Nov. 24
Ball State 30 ... Kent State 6
After a sluggish start for both sides, Larry Bostic ran for
two touchdowns, Brian Jackson hit two field goals, and Terry Moss caught
a 30-yard touchdown pass as Ball State took a 27-0 lead going into the
fourth quarter before Kent State finally got on the board with a
nine-yard touchdown catch from Marcus Smith. Jackson sealed the scoring
with a 22-yard Jackson field goal.
Player of the
game ...
Ball State RB
Larry Bostic ran 31 times for 123 yards and two touchdowns
Stat Leaders: Kent State - Passing: Julian
Edelman, 19-35, 181 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Julian Edelman, 21-95 Receiving:
Marcus Hill, 6-53, 1 TD
Ball State - Passing: Nate Davis, 16-28,
268 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Larry Bostic, 31-123, 2 TD Receiving:
Darius Hill, 5-116
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... QB Julian
Edelman accounted for 275 yards of total offense, but KSU netted 265
against Ball State. That tells you what a one-man gang the attack was.
While Kent State might be bowl eligible, it needed a seventh win to have
a reasonable shot at getting into the post-season. Forget about it now
after losing four of the final five games. Edelman is obviously the
player to build around for next year, but there need to be more pieces
added to the puzzle to diversify things a bit.
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2006
Schedule
CFN
Prediction:
2-10
2006 Record: 6-6
Preview
2006 predicted wins
|
|
8/31 |
Minnesota L 44-0 |
| 9/9 |
at Army L 17-14 OT |
| 9/16 |
at Miami Univ. W 16-14 |
| 9/23 |
at Bo. Green W 38-3 |
| 9/30 |
Akron W 37-15 |
| 10/7 |
at Temple
W 28-17 |
| 10/14 |
Toledo W 40-14 |
| 10/28 |
Ohio
L 17-7 |
| 11/4 |
at Buffalo L 41-14 |
| 11/11 |
at Virginia Tech L 23-0 |
|
11/18 |
Eastern Mich W 14-6 |
| 11/24 |
at Ball State L 30-6 |
|
|
2005
Schedule
CFN
Prediction:
6-5
2005 Record: 1-10
Preview
2005 predicted wins |
| 9/3 |
at Michigan St
L 49-14 |
| 9/10 |
SE Missouri St
W 33-12 |
| 9/17 |
Miami Univ. L 27-10 |
|
9/24 |
at Ohio
L 35-32 |
| 10/1 |
at Eastern Mich
L 27-20 |
| 10/15 |
at Navy L 34-31 |
| 10/22 |
Northern Illinois L 34-3 |
| 10/29 |
at Western Mich
L 44-14 |
| 11/5 |
Bowling Green L 24-14 |
| 11/12 |
Buffalo
L 10-6 |
| 11/24 |
at Akron
L 35-3 |
|
Nov. 17
Kent State 14 ... Eastern Michigan 6
Najah Pruden caught a 68-yard touchdown pass and Daniel Muir
picked off a pass for a five-yard score on the way to a Kent State win
to become bowl eligible. EMU only managed two fourth quarter Andrew
Wellock field goals The Eagles only got the ball one more time, but
there were only 36 seconds left on the clock. The drive ended before it
began with Gary Ham's second interception of the game. EMU turned it
over five times.
Player of the
game ... Kent State RB
Eugene Jarvis ran 33 times for 155 yards
Stat Leaders: Kent State - Passing: Julian
Edelman, 9-18, 188 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Eugene Jarvis, 33-155 Receiving:
Najah Pruden, 4-86, 1 TD
Eastern Michigan - Passing: Andy Schmitt,
10-21, 104 yds, 2 INT
Rushing: Andy Schmitt, 8-40 Receiving: Eric
Deslauriers, 7-116
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... Kent
State's offense wasn't quite at peak efficiency against Eastern Michigan
even with the return of QB Julian Edelman, but it got the win to become
bowl eligible. A win over Ball State could mean a 13th game as long as
the defense plays as well as it did against the Eagles. Forcing turnover
after turnover, the Golden Flashes always came though with the big stop.
Unfortunately, the offense wasn't as sharp only converting one of 12
third down chances with only ten first downs.
Nov. 11
Virginia Tech 23 ... Kent State 0
In a game with only 396 of total offense combined, Virginia
Tech got three Brandon Pace field goal and a six-yard Branden Ore
touchdown run, but didn't put the game away until Noland Burchette
returned a fumble 15 yards for a score. Kent State had only one real
scoring chance, but Nate Reed missed a 32-yard field goal in the
third quarter. The Golden Flashes turned it over three times and
only got nine first downs.
Player of the
game ...
Virginia Tech LB Vince Hall made 15 tackles and forced a fumble
Stat Leaders: Kent State - Passing: Michael
Machen, 6-16, 98 yds, 1 INT
Rushing: Eugene Jarvis, 21-62 Receiving:
Tom Sitko, 2-29
Virginia Tech - Passing: Sean Glennon,
12-22, 141 yds
Rushing: Branden Ore, 25-72, 1 TD Receiving:
Josh Morgan, 4-50
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... Without
Julian Edelman, who was out against Virginia Tech with a bruised
sternum, the Kent State offense reverted back to last year's form.
Of course, the Hokie defense had a lot to do with that. The Golden
Flash defense did a fantastic job against the pass, and held up well
against the run only allowing 214 yards of total offense and forcing
field goals when turnovers could've made the game a laugher early.
With Eastern Michigan and Ball State ahead, a seven-win season is
still possible if Edelman can come back and if the defense plays
like it did this week.
Nov. 4
Buffalo 41 ... Kent State 14
Buffalo took advantage of five Kent State turnovers and tough
defense in the second half to score 41 unanswered points in the shocking
win, Julian Edelman ran for two touchdowns in the second quarter to give
the Golden Flashes the early lead, but Buffalo came roaring back with
three touchdown runs from James Starks, a 21-yard touchdown catch from
Terrance Breaux and a four-yard Steven King scoring run as part of a
38-point second half. Mike Newton picked off two passes for the Bulls
Player of the
game ...
Buffalo RB James
Starks ran 24 times for 162 yards and three touchdowns
Stat Leaders: Buffalo - Passing: Tony Paoli,
14-20, 193 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: James Starks, 24-163, 3 TD Receiving: Haam
Roosevelt. 3-90
Kent State: Julian Edelman, 16-29, 190 yds, 2 INT
Rushing: Eugene Jarvis, 12-64 Receiving: Phil
Garner, 4-48
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ...
What the heck was that? Kent State went from being the MAC's toughest,
sharpest team with full control of the league, to being thrown among the
also-rans after losing to Ohio and Buffalo over the last two weeks. The
lines got beaten up and pushed around in the second half leading to
mistakes, turnovers, and a stunningly bad loss. The MAC title is now out
of reach, and one of the MAC's bowl slots appears to have gone bye-bye
with a date at Virginia Tech up next week.
Oct. 28
Ohio 17 ... Kent State 7
In a defensive battle played in lousy weather conditions, all
the scoring was done in the first half with Voncarie Owens tearing off a
17-yard touchdown run in the first quarter and Kalvin McRae bouncing in
a three-yard run in the second quarter. Julian Edelman, who did most of
his damage on the ground with 121 yards, threw an eight-yard touchdown
pass to Tom Sitko, but the Matt Lasher put it away with a 30-yard
field goal. The two teams combined to convert just five of 24 third down
chances.
Player of the game
... Ohio
DE Ernie Hodge had eight tackles, four tackles for loss and 1½ sacks.
Stat Leaders: Ohio - Passing: Austen Everson, 7-15,
52 yds, 1 INT
Rushing: Kalvin McRae, 24-103, 1 TD Receiving: Kalvin
Mcrae, 2-23
Kent State - Passing: Julian Edelman, 7-20, 79 yds,
1 TD
Rushing: Julian Edelman, 23-121 Receiving: Brian Bell,
2-40
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ...
The 17-7 loss to Ohio was devastating. Now
the Golden Flashes need win out in MAC play, not a problem against
Buffalo, Eastern Michigan and Ball State, and must get a Bobcat loss to
play for the title. Julian Edelman ran the ball well, but there wasn't
any passing game in the lousy weather and there wasn't any consistency
in the second half. Things work better when Eugene Jarvis adds some
diversity to the attack, but it would also help if there were more big
plays from the receivers.
Oct. 14
Kent State
40 ... Toledo 14
Kent State rolled out to a 33-0 lad helped by a Jack Williams
interception, his first of two on the day, for a 44-yard score and two
of Eugene Jarvis's three short touchdown runs. Julian Edelman threw a
touchdown pass and ran for a 26-yard score, while the KSU defense held
Toledo to just 234 yards of total offense. The Rockets turned it over
four times and didn't score until late in the game on two Aaron Opelt
touchdown passes.
Player of the game
... Kent
State RB Eugene Jarvis had 179 yards and three touchdowns on 31 carries
and a catch for four yards.
Stat Leaders: Toledo - Passing: Aaron Opelt, 16-27,
135 yds, 2 TDs, 1 INT
Rushing: DaJuane Collins, 7-45 Receiving: Chris Hopkins,
4-36
Kent State - Passing: Julian Edelman, 8-15, 78 yds,
1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Eugene Jarvis, 31-179, 3 TDs Receiving: Najah
Pruden, 4-44, 1 TD
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... Kent
State has turned things up on both sides of the ball and is dominating
now. It crushed Toledo helped by four takeaways and pounding away on the
Rocket defense for 270 rushing yards. Eugene Jarvis was tremendous,
while Julian Edelman did a decent job of balancing things out. To
nitpick, there were too many penalties and the passing game could've
been crisper, but this was a MAC champion type of performance.
Oct. 7
Kent State 28 ... Temple 17
Kent State outgained Temple 415 yards to 194, but had to fight
well into the second half to put the game away. Jon Drager ran for two
second half touchdown runs and Najah Pruden caught a 16-yard scoring
pass after Temple held a 10-7 first quarter lead highlighted by a
31-yard Tim Brown touchdown run. The Owls finally got back in the end
zone late with 1:37 to play on a 33-yard pass to Bruce Francis.
Player of the game
... Kent
State RB Jon Drager ran 18 times for 84 yards and two touchdowns.
Stat Leaders: Temple - Passing: Adam DiMichele,
14-26, 144 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Tim Brown, 12-76, 1 TD Receiving: Mike
Holley, 3-18
Kent State - Passing: Julian Edelman, 14-25, 211
yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Jon Drager, 18-84, 2 TD Receiving:
Shawn Bayes, 3-59
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... Kent
State can't be too happy with its performance against Temple. If this is
really a MAC title contender, it should've put away the Owls far
earlier. 11 penalties and two turnovers helped keep Temple alive for a
while, but the run defense and pass rush ended up taking over and
leading the way to the win. This is the program's first non-conference
win since 1987 and it's on a four-game winning streak. Even with a down
game, things are going well.
Sept. 30
Kent State 37 ... Akron 15
Kent State overcame an early 7-2 deficit to go on a 21-point
second quarter run with Julian Edelman running for a four-yard score and
connecting with Brian Bell for a 15-yard touchdown with :43 left.
Edelman put a cap on the game with a 55-yard scoring strike to Najah
Pruden midway through the third. Luke Getsy connected on touchdown
passes from 39 and 36 yards out for Akron, but they weren't nearly
enough to overcome the Golden Flash offensive balance that held on to
the ball for over 36 minutes.
Player of the game
... Kent
State QB Julian Edelman completed 17-of-21 passes for 305 yards and two
touchdowns and ran for 69 yards and another score on 24 carries.
Stat Leaders: Akron - Passing: Luke Getsy, 19-38,
261 yds, 2 TDs
Rushing: Dennis Kennedy, 16-91 Receiving: Jabari Arthur,
5-64, 1 TD
Kent State - Passing: Julian Edelman, 17-21, 305
yds, 2 TDs
Rushing: Julian Edelman, 24-69, 1 TD Receiving: Najah Pruden,
4-156, 1 TD
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... Kent
State is playing better than any team in the MAC. Where has the
turnaround come from? The lines. The offensive line has allowed Julian
Edelman time to operate, while the defensive line did a great job of
generating just enough pressure on Akron QB Luke Getsy force mistakes
and misfires. With next week's layup against Temple, KSU will be 4-2
heading into home games against Toledo and Ohio. The momentum should
keep on rolling as long as Edelman remains hot.
Sept. 23
Kent State 38 ... Bowling Green 3
Kent State's defense forced six turnovers with Gary Ham
returning a fumble 36 yards for a touchdown to put an exclamation point
on the blowout. Shawn Bayes tore off a 79-yard run to get the scoring
started for the Golden Flashes, and then Julian Edelman went to work
throwing a five-yard touchdown pass and running for a two-yard score on
the way to a 21-3 halftime lead. Bowling Green was outgained 357 yards
to 282.
Player of the game ... Kent State FS Andre Kirkland
made 14 tackles, two sacks, two interceptions, forced a fumble, and came
up with 2.5 sacks for loss
Stat Leaders: Kent State - Passing:
Julius Edelman, 14-22, 141 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Shawn Bayes, 1-79, 1 TD. Receiving:
Najah Pruden, 5-66
Bowling Green - Passing: Tyler Sheehan,
8-14, 64 yds, 1 INT
Rushing: Chris Bullock, 17-99. Receiving: Ken
Brantley, 3-44
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ...
It's now official. Kent State is a
player in the MAC race. The running game was better than it's been since
2004 with 216 yards and three touchdowns against Bowling Green, while
the defense came up with its third straight fantastic game. With Temple
ahead before home games against Toledo and Buffalo, and followed up by a
date at Buffalo, 6-2 is very, very possible if QB Julius Edelman can be
consistent and Eugene Jarvis keeps running well.
Sept. 16
Kent State 16 ... Miami University 14
Kent State broke an 11-game losing streak after getting out to
a 16-0 lead and then hanging on. Julian Edelman ran for a one-yard score
and threw a 16- yard touchdown pass to Najah Pruden, but the RedHawks
came back on a three-yard Brandon Murphy touchdown run and a two-yard
scoring run from Mike Kokal coming with just over a minute to play.
Kokal misfired on his two-point conversion and Kent State recovered the
onside kick.
Player of the game
... Kent
State QB Julian Edelman was 14-of-22 for 244 yards and a touchdown and
ran for 62 yards and a score.
Stat Leaders: Kent State - Passing: Julian Edelman,
14-22, 244 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Eugene Jarvis, 12-63 Receiving: Najah Pruden,
5-145, 1 TD
Miami - Passing: Mike Kokal, 20-35, 165 yds, 1 INT
Rushing: Brandon Murphy, 20-92, 1 TD Receiving: Ryne
Robinson, 8-61
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ...
Kent State's offense came up with one of its best
performances in the last few years with 386 yards of total offense
against Miami. Julian Edelman played like a real, live quarterback
pushing the ball down field with consistency and getting some good yards
with his legs. The D didn't stuff the RedHawks, but it kept Mike Kokal
and the passing game from completing anything deep. Now the momentum has
to continue at Bowling Green next week. With Temple to follow, a 3-2
start is possible
Sept. 9
Army 17 ... Kent State 14 OT
Kent State forced overtime on a late 15-yard touchdown catch
from Najah Pruden, but Julius Edelman lost a fumble in the first extra
possession which Army converted into a 36-yard Austin Miller field goal
for the win. The Golden Flashes started off the scoring on a 17-yard run
by Darren Rogers, and then Army answered with 14 straight points on two
short Tony Moore touchdown runs.
Player of the game ... Army DE Cameron Craig made ten
tackles and 3.5 tackles for loss.
Stat Leaders: Army - Passing: David
Pevoto, 14-28, 104 yds, 2 INT
Rushing: Wesley McMahand, 19-90. Receiving:
Walter Hill, 4-36
Kent State - Passing: Julian Edelman,
9-22, 92 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Julian Edelman, 16-82. Receiving: Najah
Pruden, 4-57, 1 TD
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ...
Kent State has to start figuring out how to keep the
chains moving. It was able to hang around against Army despite
converting a mere two of 12 chances on third down and hanging on to the
ball for 25:45. QB Julian Edelman will be better in time, but he has to
be more efficient and can't be the entire offense. He needs help from
the running backs and he has to find a second target besides Najah
Pruden. The defense did a decent job against the Army offense and forced
a few mistakes. There will have to be a lot more big plays to get by
Miami University and Bowling Green in the coming weeks.
Aug. 31
Minnesota 44 ... Kent State 0
Minnesota scored on its first seven possessions while the
defense forced six turnovers and held Kent State to a mere 282 yards of
total offense. Alex Daniels (153 yards) and Amir Pinnix (114 yards)
helped the Gophers crank out 332 rushing yards .Daniels ran for three
scores and Eric Decker caught a first quarter 39-yard touchdown pass.
The Golden Flashes only mounted one real scoring threat coming on a
64-yard pass to Najeh Pruden, but Minnesota LB Marion Reese forced a
fumble at the one and the Gophers recovered.
Player of the game ... Minnesota RB Alex Daniels ran 24
times for 155 yards and three touchdowns.
Stat Leaders: Minnesota - Passing: Bryan
Cupito, 8-13, 146 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Alex Daniels, 24-155 yds, 3 TD. Receiving:
Matt Spaeth, 3-58
Kent State - Passing: Julian Edelman,
7-13, 150 yds, 3 INT
Rushing: Eugene Jarvis, 15-109. Receiving: Najah
Pruden, 5-118
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... Julian
Edelman got the starting nod against Minnesota and went all the way with
Michael Machen sitting on the bench. He showed off a little mobility and
was able to make a couple of nice plays, but he still has a way to go
before he can make the offense consistent. On a positive side, there was
a running game for the first time in over a year with Eugene Jarvis
cranking out a decent day. The run defense can't get down about getting
rolled on by the Gophers, but it needs a confidence boost in one of the
road games over the next five weeks.
2006 Kent State Preview
Kent State Preview |
Offense |
Defense |
Depth Chart |
Further Analysis
How is it that a team with players like defensive
linemen Danny Muir and Colin Ferrell, corners Jack Williams and
Usama Young, and a receiver in Najah Pruden can be so, so, so bad?
Kent State has never set the MAC world on fire with only one winning
season since 1987, but it wasn't brutally awful during the days when
Josh Cribbs was at quarterback. Then Cribbs left, the coaching staff
realized they didn't recruit enough decent running backs, and the
ground game ended up averaging 45.9 yards per game as the Golden
Flashes went 1-10 with the lone victory coming over SE Missouri
State. There was the indignity of losing to Ohio, and the nadir with
a 10-6 home loss to Buffalo.
Things should be on the upswing with the help of speedy new
running backs Tony Howard and Eugene Jarvis, an experienced group of
receivers and big Michael Machen throwing it, one of the league's
best secondaries, and Muir and Ferrell up front.
So why does it seem like things are going to go horribly wrong yet
again?
After averaging eight points per game over the final five games, it's
hard to believe the machine will instantly turn on. Even with the
newcomers, the running game still has to prove it can move the ball,
Machen has to prove he isn't a multi-interception game waiting to
happen, and the linebacking corps needs time to jell. There might be
talent to build around, but it didn't seem to matter last season.
Even with all the concerns, KSU plays in the MAC East, by far the easier
of the two divisions with games against Ohio and Buffalo to offset the
big boys like Bowling Green, Miami, and Akron. Finishing third in
the division is very possible, and if all the pieces come together, this
might be the team that makes college football's biggest turnaround in
the win column.
The
Schedule: Four
of the first five games are on the road with the load home date in the
opener against Minnesota. However, the last game in the four is at
Temple to start another interesting four game stretch with Ohio coming
to Dix Stadium and a trip to Buffalo to close it out. Eastern Michigan has to come to
Kent before the season finale at Ball State. In other words, outside of
games against the Gophers and at Virginia Tech, things aren't all that
bad.
Best
Offensive Player: Senior WR Najah Pruden. He's a 60-yard bomb
waiting to happen, but the 6-3 speedster also has to be more of a steady
target. He's the team's best receiver with game-breaking ability and has
to make more big plays to open things up for the rest of the receivers.
Best
Defensive Player: Senior DE Danny Muir. He bulked up to 285 pounds
and has grown into a whale of an all-around lineman. He's able to play
tackle and be among the best in the MAC, and now he'll move to the end
where he'll hopefully grow into even more of a pass rusher.
Key player
to a successful season: Redshirt freshman RB Eugene Jarvis and
sophomore RB Tony Howard. How bad was the Kent State running game? It
didn't just finish dead last in the nation, the second worst team, Ole
Miss, averaged 27 yards a game more than the Golden
Flashes. The 5-5 Jarvis and Howard, a Michigan State transfer, must use
their speed to balance out the offense.
The season
will be a success if ... Kent State wins five games. There's enough experience to expect a
good year, and there's no reason not to get five wins when the schedule
has at Army, at Temple, Ohio, at Buffalo, Eastern Michigan and at Ball
State.
Key game:
September 9th at Miami University. The RedHawks are much better, but
this is an important MAC East game to see how the Golden Flashes stack
up with the best in the league. There will be such a thing as a good
loss if this is kept close before going to Bowling Green.
2005 Fun
Stats:
- Yards per carry: Opponents 4.2 - Kent State 1.8
- Time of possession: Opponents 34:11 - Kent State 25:47
- Opening day attendance at Michigan State: 73,949 - Attendance at the
five Kent State home games: 33,292:
The Last Time Kent
State…
…played in a bowl game…1972 (Tangerine Bowl vs. Tampa)
…missed a bowl game…2005
…pitched a shutout…1994 (Ohio)
…was shutout…2002 (Ohio)
…scored 50 points…2004 (Eastern Michigan)
…went undefeated…never
…won a conference title…1978 (MAC)
…had a 3,000-yard passer…never
…had a 1,000-yard rusher…2002 (Joshua Cribbs)
…had a 1,000-yard receiver…1997 (Eugene Baker)
…had a first-round draft choice…never
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